Skincare inspiration from EP Patent No. EP0631771: anti-wrinkle skincare formulation using retinol (Vitamin A alcohol)

This is a patent owned by Johnson and Johnson, the company holding the first retinol related skincare composition patent.  Retinoic acid, also known as Vitamin A acid or tretinoin, is well known for the treatment of skin conditions such as acne.  As of today, tretinoin is still one of the most prescribed medications for acne.

More recently, retinoids have been more and more used for treating aging or damaged skin caused by sun exposure.  Individuals who have had a good deal of sun exposure in childhood will show certain gross cutaneous alterations in later adult life including wrinkling, leatheriness, yellowing, looseness, roughness, dryness, mottling (hyperpigmentation) and various premalignant growths (often subclinical).  These cumulative effects of sunlight are often referred to as "photoaging."  Retinoids are observed to lessen and reverse the photo-aging caused by excessive UV exposure.

This patent teaches skin care compositions containing retinoids, which are generally applied topically to improve the quality of the skin.  When considering the use of retinoids in skin care products, it is believed that certain retinoids such as, for example, retinol (Vitamin A alcohol), would be preferred over retinoic acid.  This is because retinol is an endogenous compound naturally occurring in the human body and essential for good growth, differentiation of epithelial tissues and reproduction.  Retinol is also preferred because it has a much larger safety margin than other retinoids such as retinoic acid.

 The downside of using retinoids for skin care purpose is that the compounds can cause skin irritation.  This patent suggests using glycolic acid to ameliorate irritation.  It is suggested that an effective amounts of glycolic acid for soothing retinoids caused irritation should be greater than two percent by weight of the composition and preferably from five to ten percent by weight of the composition.

By now, I hope that I’ve convinced you to include retinoids in your skincare routine.  You can find tons of retinol containing products on skincare products counters in any stores.  If you’d like to make your own retinol based skincare products, start with rose hip oil.

Rose hip oil is a pressed seed oil extracted from the seeds of a rose bush (Rosa moschata or Rosa rubiginosa).  It is high in retinol (Vitamin A), vitamin C and essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid or omega-6, and linolenic acid or omega-3.  For skincare purpose, rose hip oil is used for a variety of skin conditions, including dermatitis, acne and eczema, for mature and sun burnt skin as well as brittle nails and wrinkles.  Rose hip oil is also frequently used to heal scarring and diminish photo-aging. 

Here is an example skincare serum recipe using rose hip oil: Mixing Rose hip oil (5mL), Vitamin E oil (2mL), Avocado oil (5mL), thyme oil (10 drops), rose oil (2 drops), sage oil (5 drops), geranium oil (5 drops) and clove bud oil (5 drops) together.  Then, add jojoba oil to a total volume of 25mL.  Don’t make more than 25mL each time.  Rose hip oil does go rancid rather quickly.

This serum can be used alone at night or as a skin moisturizer during the day before application of sunscreen.  I have not had any irritation issue with the serum.  Give it a try—I think you will like it too.

Thanks for reading!
Connie


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